Chateau Pontet Canet 2001

Review of the Estate

Positioned adjacent to Chateau Mouton Rothschild, Chateau Pontet-Canet is blessed with excellent terroir. Extensive improvements to vineyard practices over the past twenty years have built on this natural advantage. This has elevated the wines created at Chateau Pontet Canet to impressive heights challenging and surpassing the wines of nearby top estates, particularly in difficult vintages.

Chateau Pontet Canet is unique in Bordeaux in that they have been certified both biodynamic and organic since the 2010 vintage. Synthetic chemicals are not used and there are now horses to work the vineyards because they are gentler on the soils than tractor tires. Soils which are repeatedly worked by machines may become compacted over time and this makes it more difficult for vine roots to penetrate deeply enough into the subsoil.

All fruit at Chateau Pontet Canet is handpicked and is placed into small crates that minimise the possibility of the grapes being crushed before they reach the winery. Careful sorting is done with both vibrating machines and a large group of workers in order to remove all but the healthiest grapes.

A new and improved vat room was built in the cellars for the Chateau Pontet Canet 2005 vintage. Upgrades included cone-shaped stainless steel tanks and cement vats. The cellar also operates entirely by gravity, ensuring that the grapes, must and wine are all handled as gently as possible.

Chateau Pontet Canet uses very precise blending techniques, with parcels being fermented in small lots. After fermentation, the wine is run off into barrels, 60% of which are new, where it is then matured for 16 to 20 months.

Robert Parker Pontet Canet 2001 Review

Score: 89 Points

2001: One of the great estates of the Medoc, Pontet-Canet has enjoyed increasing attention as well as a draconian selection process by owner Albert Tesseron ever since his breakthrough vintage of 1994. The 2001 does not possess the power of the 2000 or the huge 2003, but it is still a very fine albeit tannic, lighter wine. A blend of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 29% Merlot, and small percentages of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot, it was produced from modest yields of 37 hectoliters per hectare. Revealing classic cassis aromas, medium to full body, a firm structure with plenty of finesse, a closed personality, and dominant as well as intrusive tannin, it should age well for 12-20 years, but patience will be required. Certainly the concentration appears up to the level of the tannin. Anticipated maturity: 2007-2017.